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Sep 8 Friday Findings - September 8th Edition

This week we are taking a look at a structure built using mycelium, 5 places that professors believe shouldn't have been demolished, the debate towards conversation pits, and the trend against speculation with architecture.

Tree-shaped structure shows how mushroom roots could be used to create buildings

Recently architects have been experimenting with alternative construction materials such as mushroom mycelium. This material is formed from the root network of mushrooms and commonly considered for cladding. Dirk Hebel and Philippe Block, however, have considered using it for a self-supporting structure called MycoTree, which can be seen in the video above.

You can also read more about the project here.

5 Places America Should Have Saved

Preservation of buildings is costly due to the mobilization, time and resources. Due to this, some projects are often not funded which typically results in the building becoming acquainted with a wrecking ball. In this article found on City Lab, they've asked professors to provide their opinion on which buildings and parks should have been preserved instead of demolished. Among the five are the Original Waldorf Astoria building, The Chicago Stock Exchange, and the Rachel Raymond House.

You can read the opinions on why the building should have been preserved here.

In praise of the conversation pit

Despite being introduced in the late 1950's, conversation pits are still a controversial design element today. Those against the design often call them a danger zone where concussions are prone. The danger is overlooked by those who favor the pits as they believe it to be a highly sought after feature to subdue the dependency on technology.

What happened to speculation in architecture?

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